1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lubricating oil supply structure in a planetary gear mechanism for supplying a lubricating oil to oil passages which open into ends of a plurality of pinion shafts fixed to a planetary carrier, thereby lubricating pinions which are rotatably carried on outer peripheries of the pinion shafts.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lubricating oil supply structure is conventionally known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 48642/86, in which in order to lubricate a pinion carried on a planetary carrier of a planetary gear mechanism through a pinion shaft, an oil reservoir for retaining a lubricating oil is provided in a side of the planetary carrier into which an oil passage defined in the pinion shafts open, and a thrust race of a thrust bearing located radially inside the oil reservoir is curved and superposed with the oil reservoir.
The above known lubricating oil supply structure does not include a means for affirmatively supplying the lubricating oil. For this reason, particularly when the planetary carrier is fixed non-rotatably, it is difficult to supply a sufficient amount of lubricating oil to the pinion shaft located at a high position, resulting in a possibility that a seizure of the pinion may be generated.